In This Issue
• Reinstatement Bid for the Paralympic Games
• "Retour a La Base" by Lorient Grand Large and IMOCA Class
• Through the looking glass - gloriously - Nautor Swan
• Just Another Belting Day
• IRC/ORC Combined World Championships 2022
• Rolex TP52 World Championship
• This week: Jo Aleh, 470 Olympic champion
• Voting in the British Yachting Awards is live!
• Filmstars
• Featured Charter: TS5 - Addictive Sailing
• Featured Brokerage:
• • Zeydon Z60 - Regulus
• • Carkeek 47 Grand Prix
• • Bavaria C45
• The Last Word: Mort Sahl
Brought to you by Seahorse magazine and YachtScoring.com EuroSail News is a digest of sailing news and opinions, regatta results, new boat and gear information and letters from sailors -- with a European emphasis. Contributions welcome, send to
International Federation World Sailing Kick-Starts Reinstatement Bid for the Paralympic Games in Los Angeles 2028
London: World Sailing, the international federation for the sport of sailing recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), today officially kick-started their campaign for sailing to be reinstated at the Paralympic Games in Los Angeles (USA) in 2028.
The governing body has outlined a set of strategic priorities to support the growth of the sport by 2023:
- Increase worldwide participation to 45 nations on 6 continents.
- Increase youth participation (below the age of 30) to 20% of total athletes.
- Grow the number of female participants to 30% and, ultimately, to achieve gender parity.
Focusing on diversity, inclusion, affordability, development, and increasing the number of open and Para sailing events are all part of World Sailing's framework to build on the success of Para sailing.
"We know that other major sports looking for reinstatement are already drawing up their bid plans," commented David Graham, CEO of World Sailing. "We know that IPC President, Andrew Parsons, has already publicly declared that the IPC will be looking at potential 'new sports' following the successful introduction of new, youth-focused sports at Tokyo 2020. We are on track to achieve our strategic priorities by 2023 and we are taking nothing for granted."
The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has yet to confirm the bid process for LA28, however World Sailing is proactively launching its campaign to galvanize support and build on the growth of Para sailing: "It is a critical task of World Sailing to reinstate Para sailing in the Paralympics," stated Quanhai Li, President of World Sailing. "We must pro-actively coordinate with the International Paralympic Committee to further understand the entry standards and requirements, and I am in direct contact with the IPC President on this matter as we continue our work towards reinstatement at the Los Angeles Games in 2028."
The 2028 Summer Paralympic Games, known as LA28, will be the first held in the United States since 1996 when Para sailing made its debut at the Atlanta 1996 Paralympic Games as a demonstration sport. Para sailing was a successful Paralympic sport for five consecutive Games from Sydney 2000 to Rio 2016.
"Retour a La Base" by Lorient Grand Large and IMOCA Class
Home to some of the most ambitious offshore racing projects, a skippers' training base and a venue synonymous with innovation and new technologies, Lorient La Base is highly influential.
Now, in collaboration with IMOCA Class, Lorient Grand Large is announcing the creation of 'Retour a La Base' (Return to La Base), a brand-new sports event dedicated to the famous 60-foot monohulls.
For over 10 years, the Lorient Grand Large association has been supporting skippers with both professional and amateur offshore racing projects. An organiser as well as a facilitator, Lorient Grand Large also works year-round hosting local and international nautical events.
This November, with the majority of IMOCAs docking in at Fort de France in Martinique, the finish venue for the Transat Jacques Vabre Normandie Le Havre, Lorient Grand Large is organising a return rally via the sea in double-handed or crewed configuration, the premise of an even more ambitious project in two years' time.
The idea is to turn the 'Retour a La Base' into a singlehanded event that forms part of the IMOCA Globe Series Championship in November 2023, where it will serve as a qualifier for the Vendée Globe 2024-25.
"The Retour a La Base 2021 is essentially a 'warm up' for the singlehanded race in 2023, which will be a key step in a sailor qualifying for the Vendée Globe the following year. Lorient Agglomération has asserted its wish to include Lorient as a venue for hosting major offshore races. As such, creating its own singlehanded transatlantic race for IMOCAs with long-term aims to repeat it again and again is something we're very keen to pull off. In 2021, it will be a friendly 'rally', enabling us to lay down the foundations of our future ambitions. Naturally, we're delighted that several teams have already confirmed their participation," explains Jean-Philippe CAU, President of Lorient Grand Large.
Through the looking glass - gloriously - Nautor Swan
The creation of Maxi Swan as a standalone entity promises to both stimulate and shake up the top end of performance sailing all the way across the board... and in ways yet to be imagined
A lot has happened at the Nautor shipyard in the last 12 months and some major milestones have been achieved. They've established Maxi Swan as a separate entity in its own right, announced two new models – the 88 and 108 – to expand the range, and sold the first units of each. They've also built and launched the first of their new flagship model, the 120, started construction of their first diesel-electric hybrid, and launched the ClubSwan 125, which promptly claimed monohull line honours in the Fastnet Race on its first outing and set a new course record. Meanwhile, the construction of the first ClubSwan80 continues… and that's just the highlights of the maxi division.
The strategy that's been driving these projects was set some time ago and many of them have been steadily under way for three, four or even five years but it's fitting that the leaders of the Italo-Finnish shipyard waited until 2021, when many longterm goals were coming to fruition, to announce the dawn of a new Maxi Swan era.
Full article in the November issue of Seahorse
Just Another Belting Day
Tuesday was yet another day of extraordinary tales and adventure. The 42nd Rolex Middle Sea Race continues to live up to its billing as a blockbuster thriller. Overnight the list of finishers had lifted from seven to 18 by 0900 CEST and is now up to 31 as more boats filed across the line. Some 40 or so crews are on the leg from Lampedusa to Malta and will be relieved to be on the last stretch home. The weather is predicted to throw another curve ball in the next 12 hours. Winds are forecast to build substantially from the north-east thrashing the northern coast of Malta and the seas down to Lampedusa. The clubhouse leader has already changed. The British yacht Sunrise, winner of the 2021 Rolex Fastnet Race, sits atop the standings.
After Rambler ended her sixth rounding of Sicily on Monday morning, it was another 14 hours before the Volvo 70 I Love Poland, skippered by Grzegorz Baranowski and winner of 2020 monohull line honours, reached the finish.
The excitement really began with the arrival of Daguet 3 – Corum, which at one point looked a contender to topple Comanche. In the end, the localised weather system spinning its way from Lampedusa to Malta, on Monday, put paid to the effort. That same system is the one about to drive the ferocious winds. Its unexpected part in the 2021 Rolex Middle Sea Race overall result should not be underestimated. Frederic Puzin's crew ended their assault at 0520 CEST and holds an unassailable lead in IRC Class Two, with Teasing Machine (FRA) in second.
With the six best boats in this year's 695nm Rolex Fastnet Race on the start line, competition for the podium places was guaranteed to be fierce. It looks, however, that one boat may have comprehensively outwitted the other five Rolex Fastnet boats and the entire Middle Sea Race fleet. Sunrise had been sailing a race two classes above its own, pretty well since the Messina Strait. Despite a tricky final few miles to and through the South Comino Channel, the JPK 1180 has squeezed into the overall lead of the 2021 Rolex Middle Sea Race and is on the cusp of a remarkable double. Needing to finish by 1338 CEST on Tuesday to beat Comanche, nearly three times her waterline length and rating almost twice as high, the British yacht passed Race Control at Tigné Point at 1323 CEST, to grab a 16-minute lead in the overall standings. Some 50 yachts are still competing for IRC Time Correction silverware, so it is a nervous wait for Tom Kneen and his crew.
On Wednesday we should know if the sun is shining on Sunrise.
IRC/ORC Combined World Championships 2022
Statement from IRC Board Chairman
26 October 2021, LONDON: The IRC Board, RORC and UNCL were shocked and disappointed to read the ORC/YCCS Notice of Race for an exclusive ORC World Championship in Porto Cervo, Italy, in June 2022, thereby cancelling the previously agreed joint IRC/ORC event. This was a totally unexpected unilateral decision at a time when we thought negotiations were continuing to finalise a combined scoring system.
It appears that ORC has no wish to honour our shared commitment to hold joint World Championships made at the World Sailing Annual Meeting in Barcelona in 2016. We hope that this is not true and we continue to be open to constructive dialogue.
This action has damaged the foundation of trust and respect which is essential for progress. If we cannot re-engage, we must consider our options to exercise our right to hold separate IRC World Championships to preserve the rights of sailors using our rating system to compete internationally at the highest level.
Michael Boyd
IRC Board Chairman
26 October 2021
Rolex TP52 World Championship
Former top Dutch Finn and Star boat helm turned leading offshore racer, Code Zero's Marc Blees will field a team at next week's 10 boat Rolex TP52 World Championship in Palma, Mallorca.
A long time friend, supporter and an ardent fan of the TP52 Class and the 52 SUPER SERIES – Code Zero being the clothing partner for the world's leading grand prix monohull class – Blees has assembled a top drawer crew to race Xio-Code Zero, the 2011 former Quantum Racing which as Xio was 2019 ORC World Champion which recently finished third on the TP52 20th Anniversary Invitational Day racing against the full 52 SUPER SERIES fleet.
Mark Mendelblatt, 2012 US Olympian in the Star class who was second at the TP52 World Championship in Palma in 2009, will call tactics for his former Star class rival and friend Blees on Xio-Code Zero. Navigator will be South African Marc Lagesse. Otherwise most of the crew sail together regularly on the Maxi 72 Jethou.
"I love the class, I love the boats, I love the 52 SUPER SERIES and this is a great opportunity to step in and compete at the highest level and to have a lot of fun with a bunch of great sailors who are mates from Jethou. The boats are fast but very manageable, we are going from a crew of 22 on Jethou to 12 or 13 and we have some big guys so we have lots of power."
Blees enthuses,
"The boat is a good boat, still fast and one I have always liked. I love sailing with Mark Mendelblatt, I love his approach and how he pushes. We will certainly have some fun."
Marc Blees last raced on the 52 SUPER SERIES with an all-star crew at the Royal Cup IBIZA in 2014 when he finished fifth in the eight boat fleet.
This week: Jo Aleh, 470 Olympic champion
Olympic gold and silver medallist in the 470 and Chair of World Sailing's Athletes' Commission, Jo Aleh, joins Road To Gold this Thursday for a live Q&A session. One of New Zealand's most successful sailors will share her thoughts on what it takes to succeed at the highest level.
Join the call live, with Road To Gold co-creators Hamish Willcox and Andy Rice, to ask Jo your questions about putting together a winning campaign.
Thursday 28 October (0800 UK / 2000 NZ)
The Q&A kicks off on Zoom at 0800 hours UK time Thursday morning/ 2000 hours NZ time on Thursday evening 28 October.
FREE Zoom invite
Join the Live Q&A call with Jo Aleh this Thursday.
us06web.zoom.us
Meeting ID: 845 0843 1007 Passcode: 188490
Voting in the British Yachting Awards is live!
The British Yachting Awards, organised by Sailing Today with Yachts & Yachting magazine, celebrates the very best of the cruising and racing worlds. And 2021 has been a great year for sailing.
Gear manufacturers have continued to impress with innovations across the board. Boat manufacturers have continued to identify niches and create boats that push the boundaries. Sailors put in some remarkable performances, in the professional and amateur spheres.
The British Yachting Awards, as ever, is a snapshot of a fascinating and thriving international sailing scene.
We hope you enjoy perusing the category shortlists, which you can find on the links below and on our dedicated website britishyachtingawards.com
Sailor of the Year, sponsored by Pantaenius
Youth Sailor of the Year, sponsored by BoatLive Live
Equipment Innovation of the Year
Filmstars
The epicentre of European sailing this summer has unquestionably been Lake Garda and if you've been there, sailed there, raced a championship there, you already know why. A more perfect amphitheatre for watersports simply doesn't exist anywhere on the planet. And what's more the unique climate guarantees a breeze, the Ora, that you can set your watch by at a civilised time of the day affording the Italian denizens plenty of time for a morning espresso or two ahead of a hearty prima colazione.
Torbole, found on the north eastern side of a lake crafted during the Quaternary age from glacial movement some 1.5 million years ago, is picture postcard beautiful, like something from a film set. No wonder the Romans found it absolutely irresistible. It's quite simply paradise found. It's sailing's nirvana.
And if you're a yachting photographer, it's Mecca. The shots this summer of everything from Tom Slingsby acing the Moths to Alex Demurtas winning in the Optimists to the Waszps via IQFOiLs, Melges 24's and on to OK's, Cadets, Musto Skiffs and Persico 69F's, have been absolutely stunning…but the best was saved to last as the grand old Dames of our sailing pantomime, the graceful 5.5 Metres, wound up the early Autumn with the conclusion to their Alpen Cup.
Full editorial and photos in Rule69Blog
Featured Charter
TS5 - Addictive Sailing
Available:
UK and France 2021
Caribbean - Spring 2022
Built by Marsaudon Composites in Laurient, the TS5 follows on from the TS42 and TS50 and offers a comfortable living space on a sporty chassis. They have made headlines for being among the fastest liveable multihulls in the world and can reach speeds in excess of 20 knots and are able to cover 400nm per day! Addictive Sailing weighs just 8 tonnes, has a rotating mast, fully carbon cross structure & fins and NKE instrumentation. Discover the magic of sailing on a performance catamaran. The TS5 has 4 double cabins, 2 heads and a spacious open plan living space that provides a fantastic platform for entertaining, and enjoying all the toys this TS5 has to offer. Addicitive sailing is perfect for active charters with lots of toys including paddle-boards, kitesurfing equipment, inflatable sailing dinghy and snorkelling equipment.
See listing details in Seahorse Charters
Contact
Lucy Jackson - LV Yachting
Call: +44 2392 161272
Email:
lvyachting.com
See the the Seahorse charter collection
Featured Brokerage
2008 Zeydon Z60. 890000 EUR. Located in Marmaris, Turkey.
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When we designed the BAVARIA C45, we wanted to create a yacht which people would feel completely at home on – with features like the huge bathing platform, big cockpit and bright saloon – and also a yacht of the utmost flexibility. There are two versions available: ‘Holiday’ and ‘Style’.
Furthermore, this is the only yacht in its class available in a five-cabin version as well as three and four cabins, and which has a dinghy garage for a tender. The new BAVARIA C45 is an absolute all-rounder.
See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly
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The Last Word
You’ve got to execute people. How else are they gonna learn? -- Mort Sahl
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